Christmas Fair

Due to the extra family members this Autumn Ochre And Ocre are not attending the usual Christmas Fairs and shows. I have to say it has been nice not to have been a travelling salesperson and packing up all of our stock into my tardis like car. (It never seems to fit when I repack after a show!I once travelled home from the Country Living Fair with a plastic stool around my neck, and boxes on my lap - as a passenger I must add!)

I obviously felt like I was missing out so I came up with the idea of doing a mini fair at Ochre HQ(aka as our family home!). It will be a chance to raise money for my two favourite charities, our local Hospice and Cancer Research). Also to help promote my business more locally and meet the natives....I do hope they are friendly!
However this has resulted in us having to finish off the last few jobs in the kitchen, resulting in long weekends and late nights. I know it will be worth it when it's done, but once again as D day approaches I do wonder why I add extra stress to my life, on top of the website and brochure, oh and a baby and a puppy!.
Luckily two of our good friends will be in supporting roles with their wares - the very lovely Emma and her Little Soap Company, and the talented Jo Verity with her beautiful decoupage. We are very fortunate to live in such beautiful surroundings so if nothing else visitors can enjoy the views!
If you are intersted in coming along this Friday and Saturday do drop us an email to our customer service address and we can send you the details and a map, (essential!)

A Select Gathering

It was a select gathering of stalls at last nights Christmas Shopping Evening, at The Red Lion, Stiffords Bridge, near Malvern.
It was the first time I had been in The Red Lion, and I was struck by what a welcoming feel the pub had; recently refurbished following the awful floods, it still had the character of a country pub.
Judging by the spread put on by Sally, the landlady, it is definately a pub worth trying out for their food. Sally has a loyal following amongst her regulars, many of whom turned up last night.
Ochre And Ocre were there with Elaine from Glass On Glass, and Jo Verity, of Jo Verity Designs. We were there for a fundraising shopping evening in aid of Breast Cancer Haven. There were some fabulous prizes in the prize draw, as well as a gift wrapping service, with all proceeds going to the charity.
Our Honey Hand Lotion and Beeswax Terracotta pots were the most popular buys - both really good value, and unique gift ideas.

Shows are hard work - aside from lugging boxes of textiles and shelving around, its hard on your feet standing for several hours, and trying to get that balance with customer service.
Despite having training years at Fosters Menswear years ago, for my very first job, straight out of uni and wet behind the ears; when it comes to selling your own product it is quite hard. Selling a man and outfit is relatively simple - you can be fairly certain if he's in the shop he is intending to buy, unlike women who will surf the high street for that elusive item, and are still likely to go home empty handed.
The other advantage selling to men is that they are usually grateful for any help or advice, so you just need to establish the budget, the event, and putting together an outfit was relatively simple.
I find fairs and shows with Ochre And Ocre a completely different matter - spare a thought for the stall holder next time they ask if you want any help...I've had some sneering, curt rebukes, and more often or not been completely ignored. Often you feel invisible stood behind your stall. Yes, the customer is always right, but we can make the shopping experience more interesting if we can explain the provenance of the item. I hate hard sell myself, so would never do it to anybody else, but I do like to hear about the maker of the product, or what it is made from.
So I am currently steeling myself for our next Christmas Fair - and how to sell our products in the best way possible. After every fair thinking how can I improve my display? Get the message across about the provenance of the product without bombarding with signage. And gritting my teeth for the sneerers!
Personally I love shopping at small gift fairs, because you can pick up really unique gifts, often direct from the designer / maker, and support other small businesses.
So next time you are wandering around a show, why not smile at the stall holders? You might even get a discount!

Christmas Prep

This week has been mostly in preparation for the forthcoming Christmas shows. It feels like the lull before the storm, starting with an intimate shopping evening that Jo Verity and Elaine, from Glass On Glass are organising. Ochre And Ocre were thrilled to be asked to join them, and it's for a really good cause, the Breast Cancer Haven. The WIRE team have been supportive as always, and have managed to squeeze an ad in for us in the next issue of the WIRE magazine.
There are another two fairs that week, over 5 days, so getting organised now is crucial.
Knowing how much stock is needed is a tricky one, and we've already had some sales on the new Venetien Red, its proving to be a really popular colour. I was overly cautious with the organic cotton table cloth stocks so I think I might get caught out on that one.
It was also accounts this week, which is always painful, the only nice thing is I get to catch up with my friend Amy, and her cute pup Darcey, (as seen with the new red pictures), as Amy is book keeper extraordinaire!
Believe it or not, preparation is already underway for the NEC Spring Fair, with several new ranges being planned. I will keep you posted on their progress.

Hen House Envy

Ok - I've got a confession to make...my name is Tess and I am envious of my friends hen house!
The talented jeweller Jo Verity has been busy living the good life over in the lovely Malvern Hills, and has recently added this rather superb hen house (with hens of course!), to her garden.
Ok - so I am a little timid / scared of the winged things, ever since a very nasty one called "Pecker" used to chase me around my mums orchard when I was little. You had to go in armed with a cabbage stalk to beat them back, if you wanted to collect eggs.
Jo's team sound very different, and its great to get updates on their egg laying - apparently the first time one of the hens laid an egg, they were all running round chirping and flapping to celebrate!
I know I won't be the only one with this problem, my friend Amy also has HHE (Hen House Envy). Don't worry Amy - our time will come!

Burwarton Show in the Sunshine!

We were really lucky that it was sunny in Burwarton yesterday - and there was a really good turn out. We were in the Wire tent, and had some good friends in there too - Jo from Jo Verity Designs was next door. As an ex Visual Merchandiser, as you would expect her stand looked very stylish - with a great Victorian feel. Her screen at the back of the stand she decoupaged herself. (She does undertake commissions). She also had a lot of new jewellery and home interior pieces. It was very hard not to spend the days profits on her lovely pieces.
The Naked team were there as well - well not completely naked - just Naked soap! It was their first ever show, but I think a successful one for them.

A day to catch up -unload, and update the stocks today - although with the sun beaming into the office I think an hour in the garden might be the order of the day later!

No shows next week - but we are hoping to get some Christmas pics done at my good friend Amy's house; a beautifully renovated house overlooking the Malvern Hills. Its a chance to catch up with her mad Sussex spaniel Darcey as well, who has sad eyes like melting chocolate.
Just waiting for the fudge and brownie boxes from the team at As Sweet As, and then we can get the hamper pics done as well.

I hope you all checked out the Sage website, with the brilliant newsletter subscriber offer. Well worth starting your Christmas shopping early! (Can you tell we are working on Christmas already!). Don't worry we will be thinking picnics and bbq's at Christmas time!

Rain, and yet more rain....

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Ochre & Ocre are taking a stand at Burwarton show this week - (Thursday). I just hope that it stops raining, otherwise we will be swimming to the marquee. We are there under the Wire umbrella. Our good friend Jo Verity is exhibiting as well - so it will be a chance to catch up if nothing else. She has been adding some really cool interior pieces to her range recently - check out her website to see her new ranges.

Keep an eye out for our newsletter later on this week - we have managed to secure a fantastic subscriber offer from Sage - Inspired by Life. I was so impressed by my recent purchase from their site - we approached them to see if they would be interested in running an offer for our newsletter subscribers. They have agreed to offer our subscribers an amazing 20% off. Well worth checking out - and even getting some very cool and unique gifts stashed ready for birthdays and Christmas.

It is with some trepidation that I approach my next training session at BFFA with Sharon. It was only 5 days later that I could start to walk normally, as opposed to a John Wayne walk. I just hope this week is less severe, otherwise setting up for Burwarton show may be more of a challenge than expected!